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Cellphones may lead to brain tumors, new study says

A new study published in the Journal of Environmental and Public Health said phones might be the reason for a surge in deadly brain tumors. The study noted a rise in glioblastoma cases in England from 983 in 1995 to 2,531 in 2015, which aligns...

The study noted a rise in glioblastoma cases in England from 983 in 1995 to 2,531 in 2015, which aligns with the rise of smartphones as a common tech device used by nearly everyone across the world.

The study found about one-third of patients are still alive after two years after getting diagnosed with glioblastoma. Most, however, survive for 14.6 months. Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, was diagnosed with glioblastoma and had his tumor removed last year.

All age groups saw a rise in tumors at the same time as lower-grade tumors fell.

Experts suggest “widespread environmental or lifestyle factors” led to the rise.

“We found a sustained and highly significant increase in GBM throughout the 21 years and across all ages,” said study leader Alasdair Philips, of Children with Cancer UK. “Interestingly, we found the highest rise in incidence in frontal and temporal regions of the brain. This raises the suspicion that mobile and cordless phone use may be promoting gliomas.”

Professor Denis Henshaw said the group needs to investigate the effects of phones more as a potential cause.

“Our findings illustrate the need to look more carefully at the mechanisms behind these cancer trends instead of focusing only on cures,” Henshaw said.

"The paper itself is not about cellphones; it's just about this change in the tumors ... but cellphones seem like really they're the most likely cause," he said.

He added that people shouldn’t worry that cellphones will lead to brain tumors.

"It’s still a very low risk of you individually getting a brain tumor," he said. "My advice would be if you're going to have a long call, make sure it's hands-free, but I wouldn't panic about it, either."

A form of non-ionizing radiation escapes phone antennas. Tissues in the body then absorb the radiation.

“Exposure to ionizing radiation, such as from X-rays, is known to increase the risk of cancer,” according to the NCI. “However, although many studies have examined the potential health effects of non-ionizing radiation from radar, microwave ovens, cellphones, and other sources, there is currently no consistent evidence that non-ionizing radiation increases cancer risk.”